Conductor roll and method of making the same



J. c, PALMER 2,958,742

CONDUCTOR ROLL AND METHOD oF MAKING THE SAME Nov. l, 1960 Filed March B,1956 m mm W NM m EL a Wm S E M M M .x B E 1.11% s .I lkl Patented Nov.,l, 1950?() CONDUCTOR ROLL AND METHQD F MAKING THE SAME James C. Palmer,Gary, Ind., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporationof New Jersey Filed Mar. s, 195s, ser. No. 570,374

2 claims. (Crm1- 1) This invention relates to a conductor roll and to amethod of making the same and more particularly to a conductor roll forsupporting and applying current to a steel strip being processed. In themanufacture of electrolytic tinplate it is necessry to apply current tothe strip for cleaning, pickling and plating. lt is for such purposethat this conductor roll is particularly adapted. Conductor rolls are,of course, old but those of which I have knowledge are not satisfactoryfor various reasons. The initial cost may be high, the life may be shortand/ or the current carrying capacity may be low.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a relativelyinexpensive conductor roll having a long life and good electricalconducting characteristics.

Another object is to provide a method for making such a roll.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the roll of my invention;and

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line II-II of Figurel.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2indicates a one-piece shaft. A pair of end bells or supports 4 are keyedto the shaft 2 by means of keys 6 and are also welded thereto, as shown.A barrel 8 is welded to the end bells 4. Plate supports or discs 10 arealso preferably provided between the end bells 4 with the discs 10 beingwelded to the shaft 2 and barrel 8. Holes 12 are provided in the plates10 to permit cooling water circulation. Openings 14 are provided in theends of shaft 2 for delivering cooling water to and from the interior ofthe roll. Holes 16 are provided in the end bells 4 for a purpose whichwill appear later. The parts so far described are all made of steel.After these parts are fastened together a casing 18 is supplied over theentire surface of the roll body and shaft, as shown. The casing 18 ismade of copper or a copper alloy of high electrical conductivity. Thecopper is supplied in molten form as by welding and may be thereforeconsidered as a cast material. The casing 18 is then machined all overto size and dimension. 'I'he thickness of the casing is preferablybetween and 1/2 inch, The barrel portion of the casing is thenelectroplated with copper or a copper alloy 20. The copper plate 20' hasa preferable thickness of between .003 and .005 inch. This copper plateiills up the pores in the casing 18. The copper plate 20 is shot blastedwith shots having a screen size of .100 inch or less. The surface ofcoating 20 is then electroplated with chrome 22 to a thickness of about.004 to .005 inch. This chrome plate forms the strip supporting surfaceof the roll and will have a surface corresponding to the shot blastedsurface of plating 20. It is `desirable that the shot be no rougher thanthat designated above so as to prevent the strip from carrying solutionalong with it. The holes 16 remain open until after manufacture of theroll is completed so that gases or vapors generated during manufacturecan escape, thus preventing pressure build-up and explosions. Theopenings 16 are then plugged to make the roll water-tight.

While one embodiment of my invention has been Shown and described itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A conductor roll comprising a steel shaft, a steel barrel, steel endsupports extending between and fastened to said shaft and barrel, arelatively thick cast copper containing casing surrounding said shaft,barrel and supports, a relatively thin copper containing platingsurrounding the casing on said barrel, and a chrome plating surroundingthe copper containing plating, the surface between said platings beingrough.

2. The method of making a conductor roll comprising fastening a pair ofsteel end supports in spaced relationship to -a steel shaft intermediatethe ends of the shaft, fastening a steel barrel to said end supports,applying in molten form a relatively thick layer of copper containingmaterial around said shaft, barrel and supports, machining the outersurface of said copper containing layer, electroplating a relativelythin coating of copper containing material on the copper containinglayer on said barrel, shot blasting the surface of said coating, thenelectroplating a relatively thin coating of chromium to the coppercontaining coating.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,217,015 Gurwick et al Oct. 8, 1940 2,439,858 Muddiman et al Apr. 20,1948 2,526,312 Winterhalter Oct. 17, 1950

